My sincerest apologies to all the new and previous readers who enjoy my story! There are no words I can use to describe how sorry I am. If anyone wonders why the update was so late, it is because I was involved in an automobile accident that kept me in hospital for 6 months. I don't remember much, but apparently a drunk driver hit me at an intersection. After recovery, I had to work entirely on school and academic stuff to make up for the lost time. Still, that's no excuse in disappointing so many readers. But I will apologize once again and ask for forgiveness that I don't deserve.
Destiny and Fate Ch 21
It seemed as if this city never receives much light. Bombardment of darkness and cold atmosphere commenced frequently. Be it a coincidence or just nature's work, the harsh weather subsided when Hikari came through the rain and offered life to Takeru. Perhaps it was merely his sheer loneliness and emptiness that caused him to think in such fashion. Lying in his silent bedroom, memories swept Takeru's confused mind. Though only fragments remained, the shattered chains of memory that managed to stay with him were clear as crystal. Pendulum in his mind began to swing backwards. He viewed vivid pictures of his past in his eyes. The weather was no different from the present, just darker and colder.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ishida. It just happens that you're not what we're looking for at this particular time. Maybe some other time."
"Please reconsider. I don't need a work raise, promotion, or anything. I will work for minimum wage and full time."
What his mind recalled was a job interview that took place not long ago. He remembered applying to all jobs he could find, only to be rejected in the end. It was an inescapable pit.
"I'm terribly sorry. But from what I see from your resume, you're just not a strong enough candidate when compared to other applicants."
"…Thank you for your time.."
Written in the resume sheet was nothing but a name. No work experience, no contact information, no house address, absolutely vacant. As he left the office, a bitter smile appeared on his face due to the utter sadness and ridiculousness of such harsh life.
"Yeah, I'm an idiot with no home or specialty."
A heavy whisper bounced off the building walls, echoing through the moist air. Tirelessly, he wondered into the rainy night in his soaked attire. That particular night, Saturday night, he remembers dragging his feet though the busy street lit with bright lights and night club music. He was aimlessly and could not and bothered not seeing his environment. However, he felt the paralyzing sting of scornful stares from the young party-goers and citizens. Detesting people's reactions was idiotic, for his appearance was hideous. From top to the bottom, he was damp with the icy rain. Hair drenched, shirts with faded color, rotting pants filled with tears and holes from constant exposure to water. There was no factor to adore at all. Even so, courtesy was a wishful hope that he never hung on to much.
"Hey, look at the foreign homeless."
"Eww, he looks disgusting."
"Why is someone like him walking around here?"
These types of comments never stopped leaving people's mouths. Additional suffering was the taunts from delinquent students and prideful, cocky people. Bumping to people was inevitable in such busy street, but some decided to make a big issue out of it.
"Watch where you going idiot!"
"Don't touch me! I don't want to catch your diseases!"
"Can't even say sorry? Stinkin foreigners. Learn the god damn language!"
He turned deaf to all these statements and comments. He continued his slow strides into the empty side of the city. Often, he would fall down on a dark alley from exhaustion and that would be his bed until the world woke him the following day. This life style cycled continued endlessly. It was a loop of uneventful, unmemorable, and insignificant life that rendered him tired and took him to the brink of death on multiple occasions. No more memories were presented to be viewed since everyday was a recurrence of that day. His mind snapped back to reality and the images no longer appeared in Takeru's eyes.
"Whew…"
He released a heavy sigh, attempting to release the devastating chills from recollecting his brutal past life. As a sigh left him, a question dawned in his head.
'What am I gonna do after 9 months?'
It was a question born from remembering the day of the most recent Yagami Corp party. It was a strange event which did not lead him to anywhere. He had not become any closer or distant with Hikari. It was certainly a reconciliation. However, her feeling for Taichi remained unchanged along with feeling towards himself. This confusing situation left Takeru baffled. What will he do after parting with Hikari? What should he do sooth the situation? How should he approach Hikari from now on? Questions regarding numerous topics perplexed him and ached him.
"…haa…doing this won't help at all."
He finally got up from his bed and exited the room, descending to the vacant living room. He lazily sat down on the cushiony couch and pondered yet again.
'I wonder what she's doing right now.'
Respecting her privacy, he threw off the temptation to check on her. He turned his attention to his cell phone and the ominous icon, Apocalypse. However, the icon was no longer present as if it had been deleted from the phone. He fiddled with the phone multiple times, but he could find no trace of it nor could restore the data.
'What is this Apocalypse anyway..?'
His worry grew since it was something that could not be lightly taken. True or not, it contained threatening ideas which involved murder of a person marked as traitor and another affiliated with the Yagami Corp. The blonde girl, injured by Hikari, appeared in his head while thinking about this matter. She seemed to be associated with it and possessed fair amount of knowledge behind it. However, he did not linger upon it conjecturing that she won't be seen again in the nearby future. He switched his attention to the outside scenery through the transparent glass wall. The clouds exhausted their liquid supply, but light still did not penetrate through the swarm of heavy rainclouds.
"When will the light come out?"
He whispered inaudibly to himself. Takeru's blue eyes viewed the outside with aimless purpose, awaiting light. While watching the moist atmosphere of the world, Takeru's aural sense detected a noise. Small click of the metal door knob, then, creaking of the maple wood door resumed in distorted rhythm. His head turned the source of the noise.
"Takeru..?"
Hikari, after seemingly an eternity of staying in her room, finally graced Takeru with her beautiful presence. She stepped quietly down the stairs to the room where he sat. Glimmer of sunlight pierced the shield of clouds and grew brighter with Hikari's each step. By the time she descended fully, the sun shined behind her back radiantly as if it was welcoming the long awaited angel's return to the heaven. Takeru's facial muscle froze upon gazing at the magnificent scenery that outmatches all the masterpiece artworks of human and nature alike. His mind only stabilized when Hikari questioned him about his well-being.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Huh..? Oh…yeah. I'm fine."
"Is there a problem?"
"No. There isn't."
He smiled at her with efforts of showing her the radiance and regal painting he had seen moments ago. Mere fractions of such beauty showed on his complexion, but it still captivated Hikari and forced the rhythm of her heart to skip a beat.
"You really look beautiful, Hikari."
"…"
Embarrassed to show her blushing, she faced away. Takeru's chuckle followed after and stood up to face her. He turned her body toward him. Their eyes met and neither could escape from each other's majestic iris. They sank further in as if they were trapped in an abyssal whirlpool. Slowly, yet surely, Takeru's eyes drew closer and Hikari began to sense his intoxicating breath, numbing her mind. The warm moisture of Takeru's lips approached Hikari's angelic, ruby lips. The gap between them closed gradually, by increments less than half of a centimeter. Takeru pulled her towards him gently, speeding up the tempo. However, at the very instance when they were about to join together their lips, she gently stepped back and removed his hands.
"Sorry… I just…can't."
She faced away yet again and continued speaking.
"I don't…want to do it…."
"I understand."
From hearing such calm response, she turned her face back to him in curiosity. Awaiting her was a comforting, bright smile.
"I'll wait until you want to."
"…"
"I will wait until you fall for me."
A short silence followed afterward.
"…Okay…"
A single, fragile word left Hikari's mouth. Takeru gave another smile upon hearing her.
"It's nice outside. You want to go out for a little while?"
Takeru suggested, taking advantage of the rare, good weather condition.
"…sure. Give me a minute."
Upon accepting his idea, she returned to her room to prepare for an outing. Short minutes passed and she came back out to join him. Curious about the destination, she asked the tall partner of it.
"Is there anywhere you plan to go to?"
"No. I just want to spend this wonderful day with you."
A crimson shade appeared on Hikari's soft cheeks.
"Today's going to be great."
After letting out a sentence, Takeru held Hikari's hand, began leading out of her apartment, and ventured out to the city with newer atmosphere.
I am sooo sorry for late update and a short chapter…. It was a hard and unforgiving period of time. I'm so ashamed for making everybody wait for such a long time… I will write more and often to please everybody to atone for the disappointment I caused to all the readers. I don't even know if my previous readers follow my updates anymore, but I hope to see everybody next time.